A New Year’s Eve brawl in Paceville has fuelled the impression of St Julian's being a “wild west”, the town's mayor has said, while calling for arraignments as soon as possible.

Some 50 people were involved in the brawl in and outside a restaurant. The police told Times of Malta that investigations are still underway. Three people were injured and several were arrested.

According to a woman who accidentally got caught up in the incident, it all began at the Al Ustura restaurant.

The woman, who was injured by a bottle thrown across the room, claimed health authority protocols were not being observed.

In a Facebook post that began with a rallying cry of “St Julian’s and our country deserve better,” Mayor Albert Buttigieg told his constituents that he was in contact with the police and the Malta Tourism Association over the incident.

Certain outlets in Paceville allowed to get away with illegalities

He thanked police for their work but said that what happened was “not only unacceptable but also adds more fuel to the idea that our locality has become ‘the wild west’ of Malta”.

Speaking to Times of Malta, he said that should those involved in the brawl be found to be residing in Malta illegally, deportations should be considered.

The police said the fight broke out between Syrian and Libyan nationals.

“I am in favour of a multicultural society but cannot in any way condone this kind of behaviour in our locality, particularly if it turns out that the foreign nationals that started the fight do not have permission to be on our island,” Buttigieg said.

Referring to Malta’s bid to attract “high-quality tourists” in 2021, the mayor said Malta’s unique culture and historical background should be the elements that attract tourism, not the lawlessness of Paceville. He called for “serious and clear” action.

“It is high time we stop being afraid of taking away licences if we truly want to have a high-quality tourism product. It is in our interest to make sure such establishments do not tarnish our reputation.”

The mayor also drew a contrast between some establishments going out of their way to comply with health authority directives and others that flouted the law as they pleased.

“Why is it being reported that this restaurant had several people gathered inside when health authorities are very clear on this matter? Why are we in a situation that allows for laws to be obeyed as if they were optional?” he asked.

He said “certain outlets” in Paceville were allowed to regularly get away with illegalities. One problem was restaurants failing to follow waste laws by hiring private contractors.

“Some people and their establishments in Paceville seem to be untouchable. All I am asking is that laws should be observed equally by all and should therefore be enforced equally for all.

“If we are not going to observe the rule of law then we might as well remove the laws altogether.”